I’m going to stay away from holiday meals. Because Christmas and Thanksgiving to me are easy answers.
#1 I think one of my favorite meals is a big juicy steak. With some side of potatoes, corn, salad. But most importantly, we need the horseradish sauce. I like to make the sauce extra spicy. Where when you eat it, it clears your sinuses. But this meal is an easy one for me. I marinate the steak the night before. Then I make the side dishes, and the husband cooks the meat. I can make most things. But he does those dishes,I have trouble with, and they come out amazing. Steak, burgers, chocolate chip cookies, and biscuits.
#2 It’s a recent meal. I made beef enchiladas a couple weeks ago. And they were amazing!! I wish I had taken pictures and used it for a blog post. Maybe next time I will. But I also made the enchilada sauce from scratch too. And I think that made a huge difference. Another part that amazed me was, that my daughter ate it. She didn’t particularly like it, but she ate it. But that my son ate 1 and half enchiladas. I had 3…I’m a grown adult. He is not even 1 1/2 years old and he devoured them. The husband also took the leftovers for work. I was a little annoyed he took them; I wanted to eat them…
🤤
#3 Probably Orange Chicken. What’s funny about this meal is, it’s a staple in my entire family. At my mom’s house they also have this often. I just take it a step farther and I make everything from scratch. Not the sauce. I use the panda orange chicken sauce. It’s just so delicious. And less work for me. I always strive for that. Haha! But this is a meal that has transcended generations.
Like all the posts I could probably list more favorites, but I think I will leave these answers as the only answers. Because they are true.
Well I should get back in the kitchen. The husband worked yesterday so today is our Thanksgiving dinner day.
Have an amazing weekend!!
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Five colors.
Four painted hands.
Three crisp papers.
Two excited kiddos.
One wet brush.
That’s right! Thanksgiving Hand turkeys. I hope to do it every year. To see how their little hands grow every year! ❤️
This is a difficult question to answer. Because I think it will change based on where you are in life.
But to me I think it’s to still have that innocence. Where you can be an adult, but there is something that makes you giddy and excited; just like it would for a five year old. That it’s the purest enjoyment.
Like for me, when I get a new painting idea. I get all giddy and excited to at least get my idea down.
I think for my husband it’s playing video games. Not as giddy as I would be. But I think it reminds him of his teenage days. He still can get online and play with his buddies.
But I don’t think it’s really behavior like a child. It’s the pure excitement that comes with doing something you love.
So for me when someone is being immature and someone says they are a child at heart I don’t feel the same.
That’s more like you are stuck in the age of a fifteen to sixteen year old, and you are still a pain. Every parent knows the age. It’s the age where you yourself regrets experiencing personally.
So to sum up. For me…
Child at heart = pure innocent excitement.
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Inspired by my sons costume yesterday.
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Yellow
And in charge.
Waddle here,
Waddle there.
So cute,
So large.
Definitely in charge.
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He was a duck. It was super adorable. But he was stomping around the harvest festival like he was the boss. It was so cute!!
Now it’s time to decorate for Christmas!! My son loves going to Costco and seeing all the lights. Excited to see his reaction when it will be in and outside our home for almost 3 months.
It’s strengthens everything; arms, legs, back, core. Lungs, flexibility, balance. When you swim it’s an everything body workout.
But in all honesty where we live, our city pool is only open 3 months of the year…they should really enclosed it.
So my year round exercise is… stress, panic, and ”running” chasing after my son…😑 He is not even a year and half and he is getting into everything. Like our bed. We finally got ourselves a nice bed frame. And it’s maybe 3.5 ft tall. He proceeds to climb it…then he stands on the edge of the bed to claim his victory.
So my days are spent in fear and panic of what he is getting into. Like last night he wouldn’t go to sleep so we played in the living room a bit longer. And the moment I wasn’t watching, he had moved the packed up air mattress, stood upon it to grab something off a surface above him, a….battery powered drill. The husband didn’t put it away…and obviously what daddy uses must be the coolest things ever…so naturally my son needs to play with it too.
But I got up from the floor at lightning speed and cleaned up the disaster and future disasters in a record time.
So that’s what I feel like my exercise is currently. Flash style reflexes done at lightning speed. Mix in some fear and panic, and you can loose some weight this way. Believe me I have.
We’ve been also doing various lifestyle changes but I’ve lost 6lbs in 2 weeks. 😳 not a good thing when still feeding a baby, but I think it’s just my son’s doing.
Our harvest festival is coming up. And I saw this shirt yesterday and I approve of this shirt. Haha 😂
So true.
I’m working a booth again this year, so I’ll have my own bowl to steal candy from. But all moms out there…while they are little and not eating candy…this is your right.
The latter is worse. But we’ve been so busy lately. My daughter is only four years old so I technically don’t have to be consistent until next September, but I’ve been trying to do some things before then. But “some” being the key word. It’s only occasionally and not at all consistent.
It’s difficult with my husband’s schedule being so funky. On his days off we do projects; so no school. On his night shifts I let my daughter spend the morning time with her daddy. And then the rest of the day is filled with our normal chores.
So I’m hoping to spend these next 11 months figuring things out.
But for me personally, it’s exercise. I want to get back into exercising, but again I never seem to have the time. And o know, most people say you always have a small window of time. True. But sleep is important.
Wake up. Wake daughter up. Make breakfast. Feed children. Eat my breakfast while cleaning up kitchen. 10-1pm on most days filled with playing with dad or a longer day until 3pm on projects. Also add in the middle my sons long nap time. 4pm let chickens out, and do outdoor chores or projects. Head back inside around 5:30pm. Start dinner. Finish dinner, eat. Watch a short educational show with kids. Start bedtime 7:30pm. In bed 9:30pm. Asleep by 10:30pm. Repeat. My days are the same all the time. So yes, maybe I could fit some exercise in there. And once it’s winter I will have more free time.
But for now my exercise is the projects I do. I’m constantly moving. Maybe even lifting things. So I think I’m good. I need to be able to stay fit for my kiddos. I don’t want to be a lump.
So yes, I’ve been putting these things off, but I’ve been trying to find different solutions that fit in my current schedule.
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?
I know they mean grown up as an adult but also remember the day I felt grown up as a kid.
I’ve already mentioned the day in detail on a previous blog post. But it was the day I stood between my dad and siblings. That day flared up my protective instincts. But felt like I grew up that day.
The day I felt like a grown up….not a very deep emotion day. But the day we bought our first couch. I don’t know why but that seemed to make me believe I had grown up.
But it’s strange. It wasn’t when we got married. It wasn’t when we bought our first house. Or moved away to a different state. Or had my daughter. But the couch came before our son. But I didn’t really feel like anything changed until the couch.
Normally when your young you buy fun things. I spoiled my husband….a lot. But I never had the desire to buy the grown up things.
But when the couch arrived I felt, “wow I’m old.” Haha! Blinds. Blinds are also something I feel like you have grown up if you want to change your blinds.
But I wonder when I’ll feel I’ve grown up to older adult life…
If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?
My mom.
She deserves it!!
I always have this dream. That if I win the lottery, what would I do.
First, I would buy my mom’s house; she could live there forever. I’d pay off debt. I would buy her a car just like mine. I would pay for all remodeling she wants to do to the house. And I would set aside money for her to get allowance for the rest of her life. She deserves this and more. So much more. ❤️
But also most importantly, my husband could choose to work or not. His choice. I know he has many dreams and ideas that he cannot do because he provides for the family. And he would invest some of it; into various things. He would want the money to continue to earn.
Next, I would pay of our debts. And also add square footage to our house and shop. We would still do the work ourselves. Just because we would be made out of money doesn’t mean we would be wasteful.
I might splurge and get myself one of those awesome craft stations….I’ve always eyeballed one.
🤤
But maybe the husband could build one for cheaper….
But other than that I don’t really have anything that screams out to me like I need.
But I would want to keep living the same. No one would know that we won the lottery. I would want to still be me. And our kids would still grow up the same.
I know. I’m pretty boring when it comes to what you want when you win.
But for me, if my husband is happy, I’m good. If my mom has no more worries I’m good. And if my family can live comfortably, I’m good.
All of our holidays have something in common. Can you guess it?!
#1
New Year’s Day:
Growing up we would stay up until midnight the. Rush outside with our pots and pans, clanging them! Celebrating the new year.
However now, I can’t seem to stay up that late. Especially my kiddos. Maybe when they get older we will have a late night game night. Or watch a traditional movie. But for right now, I sleep early. Haha 😂
Valentine’s Day:
Before marriage I would buy my mom and siblings flowers. Every year. Even my brothers. Also make my extended family valentines.
Now that I’m married and I live so far away, I prepare my husband’s favorite food. Chicken Parmesan, rolls, salad, and then a wonderfully delicious chocolate lava cake. But I also try to send valentines to my family. My daughter loves to help with those.
Easter:
(If a child is reading this, you may want them to skip this passage. Due to childhood believing.)
Younger years: I believed in the Easter bunny for a long time. I don’t know if I believed there was one or if I liked the fantasy of it all. But church was always first, then a huge egg hunt!
Now as a mama, I try to dye the eggs the Saturday before. Those ones are only for food purposes. Since where we live we have wild animals I don’t want to miss an egg and have a bear or snake visit us. We use plastic eggs outside. We go to church then come home to an egg hunt. That’s the same. The only difference is if snow is still on the ground by Easter; then obviously we have an indoor Easter. But the Easter feasts are the main purpose! I try to replicate my childhood meals to my grownup years.
Birthdays:
We don’t just celebrate our own birthdays. We also celebrate my siblings and mom’s birthdays. So most of the year is filled with cake. January, March, May, June, July, August, October, November, December. Lots of cake!!
Fourth of July:
Childhood years were pretty consistent. City parade. Delicious foods for lunch, which the leftovers would also be dinner. Fireworks in the park; until they were illegal. Staying up and having lots of family fun!
Now as a mama, parade in a city park. It is a huge parade that lasts almost 1hr. Or more. Go home and eat delicious bbq ribs that the husband makes!! I can’t eat ribs anywhere else. My mom can attest to the deliciousness of them. Hanging at the house for most of the afternoon. Then heading back to the park for an 1hr firework show. We also set off fireworks on our property the night before.
October 31st:
My childhood was for the most part church functions. Every church I went to would have a event on October 31st but it was never scary or disturbing. If church is part of your life, I think it’s best to have your kids participate in church activities on October 31st. Because once your kiddos grow up they tend to go trick or treating with friends. And I personally think it help me discern what was not okay. But anyways back to childhood memories. As a family we would all dress up and have a fun evening eating candy.
Grown up now…I still like church functions. Ours is called the harvest festival. I do the face painting. My kiddos go off with their dad and get candy. No fish! But it’s always lots of fun. We only do that; we don’t go additional trick or treating. We just have lots of wonderful family time.
Thanksgiving:
My childhood years we always had delicious foods. My mom was amazing at having a spread of cheeses and fruit before the dinner meal. All is kids would be playing or watching a movie while my mom and older sisters slaved away. But the meats and gravy. And mashed potatoes. Stuffing….my mouth is drooling 🤤
But now as the mama I too keep up the tradition and I cook all the foods. Everything is from scratch. Minus the pumpkin pies. I don’t make them from pumpkins…haha 😂 But I try and have everything timed to be done at the same time. I make enough food for maybe 15 people and it’s just us four. We eat thanksgiving foods for several weeks after thanksgiving.
Christmas:
(If a child is reading this, you may want them to skip this passage. Due to childhood believing.)
Childhood memories. I also believed in Santa for a long time. I think I was 12 or so when I finally decided that I was old enough to stop believing. But I wanted to keep the gifts magical. Also helped when my nephews were born. But we would wake up and open gifts. We wouldn’t rush through them. We would each take turns and watch as each other got their gifts. We would devour candy all throughout the morning into lunchtime. And we would wait for the delicious dinner that was being prepared. Slowly dinner was changed to delicious Chinese food in downtown. Less dishes.
Now as the mama I love to watch my kiddos open their presents. I like getting presents from people but I love giving presents more. The sparkle in my daughter’s eye as she sees all the gifts from Santa makes me so happy. I want that imagination to keep stirring. We don’t eat lots of candy. My daughter turns crazy with any amount of sugar. But I do devour a bag of Hershey kisses all by myself. I eat about 7 to a mouthful. 😊 Then we eat a small lunch. Then dinner. I have kept the tradition of Chinese food alive. But I make it all from scratch. Christmas dinner is the hardest for me. My husband knows to leave me alone while making the meal. I run around like a chicken with no head. But it is always delicious.
Well there you go. Can you guess what is the common ground? Food! Delicious food! Probably why I can’t seem to lose weight. I’m always eating food through the year.
Well I hope this answers the prompt. Have a delicious Wednesday. We are getting firewood again. It’s going to be another long tough day.
Originally it was my great grandma’s recipe. Then I added some from a pioneer recipe. Then I added a Pinterest recipe. Betty Crocker recipe. And just some personal thoughts. And now I have an awesome pie that anyone likes.
But it has a lot of sugar. So the anti sugar people out there, maybe you can alter the recipe and make it with honey and maple syrup. I don’t know.
I’m not a big fan of apple pie. But I can eat Costco’s apple pie and mine. That’s it.
I know this recipe by heart. I made it enough. My husband loves the pie. It’s the food that has made him fat and happy. His words.
To start: 2days. This makes 2 pies. 6-8 green apples, peeled and sliced. In a large bowl. Add apples, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 4 shakes of cinnamon. I don’t measure the cinnamon….maybe 2-3 tsp. Depends on if you like cinnamon. Mix and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24hrs. This was my grandma’s secret. It helps the apples soften.
Next day. Make 2×9” Betty Crocker pie crust recipe. Plus 2 batches Betty Crocker biscuit dough made into cinnamon rolls. Let pie crust chill 30min in fridge.
Slice cinnamon rolls and place in pie pan. Push down and around to form a bottom crust. This is the Pinterest idea. (I think is was for mini pies with cinnamon roll cup. I just enlarged it.) It should fill the pie pan.
Scoop out apples and place in pie pans. Do not put the liquid in apples in pie pans; save juices. This next part is from a pioneer cookbook I got in Boston. Pour sugar juices into small sauce pot. Mix 1 TBsp flour with 2TBsp water. Whisk into sugar juice mixture. Turn heat to medium high. I personally add the butter now instead of putting butter with the apples. Let simmer until thickened. About 5min. I sometimes forget about it and then it’s always magically done. It should still run off the spoon. You don’t want it clumpy, but also not runny.
Pour new thickened juice mixture into apples. I usually use maybe 3/4 of it.
Next the pie crusts. Roll out dough. I usually do lattice crusts. it’s pretty. I add leaves or something pretty to top made from dough. That’s just personal touches.
1/4 cup of milk. Brush tops of pies. Also sprinkle white sugar on top of milk. This helps the crust have a nice crunch and color.
Cook @375 for 38min. This step depends on where you live. You will have to learn what amount of time works for you. But if you make the apples 1 day ahead you don’t have to cook the pie forever. I usually cook until I can really smell the apple pie then I check. I like the lattice to be golden. And to see the juices bubbling.
And you are done. Enjoy!! It is delicious. I love vanilla ice cream on it, but it’s delicious enough to just have it plain. My daughter who is picky likes it. My son already eats anything.
Well I hope you like this recipe. And I did just write it from heart. I didn’t get up from the couch. Haha 😂 It is a great pie for holidays. The cinnamon roll crust helps it be something new. And I’ve never had someone says they don’t like it. And if you are someone who can’t have dairy use non dairy milk and butter or just leave those steps out.
But this recipe I know I can’t take all the credit. I have morphed recipes together to create this one. But it is awesome!!
This is a great question. And my answer is actually quite funny.
Turns out my first name was just because my mom loved the name. All my other siblings were given family names. But I was named my name because of pure love. Which makes me happy, and I am okay with that reason.
Especially since I have a name for hopefully another little girl, and the first name is not a family name. It’s just a name that I love.
My middle name is a family name. And this is the funny part.
My entire childhood I thought my middle name came from my grandma on dad’s side. She was an awful human being. I only met her once; once was enough.
Through my entire childhood I thought about what to legally change my name to when I was old enough. That was how much I was disturbed.
Obviously I kept the name. Only to find out, from my mom, that I’m actually named after a grandma on my mom’s side who was a lovely person. Haha 😂 Mind you I found this out when I was maybe 17-19. I can’t remember exactly. But for a long time I wonder how my mom could name me with love and hatred.
Safe to say I was mistaken, and now I love my name. And maybe when I become a grandma, maybe my name will be the start of a family name. 🥰
It’s been a while since I did one of these. I have been cooking, but I’ve been trying to figure out how to cook with a new tiny one at my feet.
Todays recipe is from….the mother in-law! Haha 😂 Our relationship was rocky at first but now we have found a common ground. Cooking. I share recipes and she does too. This recipe actually comes from one of my many cookbooks; she discovered it when she visited many years ago.
It’s called…Southwestern Rice Bake
This is the picture she sent me. I love getting recipes like this. Where you’ve changed things to be more delicious!! And I did make it the same as she wrote.
The ingredients. I was also making pickles at the same time. I’ll write about the pickles on a different post.
Cheese, rice, beef, garlic, cilantro, etc. What could go wrong.
First comes the tomatoes.
This lone tomato came from our garden. 😎
Chopping tomatoes, chopping tomatoes, chopping, chopping, chopping. I’m making the salsa for the top first. She wrote that you should let it sit and stew I. The fridge while you make the other part. (My new spiffy knife!! That thing awesome.)
Super easy to make. Just Tomatoes, onion, green chilies, cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic, and fat. I didn’t know about the fat, but she insisted it would taste good. I might just use oil next time. I don’t need to eat extra fat.
The meat! Definitely going to drain off the fat. I’m always looking for ways to be healthier. I’m not too old; my body shouldn’t be hurting.
The gathering…
Mixing!! Mix, mix, mix the stuff up. (I don’t know why I’ve got the shake my wiggles out song stuck in my head… but I do.
Well I did it again. I forgot to take a before picture. I was doing the pickles, the casserole, and the dishes all at once. Ignore the ugliness of my oven. Ewww….I’m going to need a day of scrubbing.
The smaller casserole dish was just left half plain. But look at that delicious salsa. 🤤
Finished! And I must say that mother in law recipe looks amazing. Let’s taste it…!
Taste: 10/10!! I’m happy I did one extra tomato. The salsa makes this dish!!
Easiness: 10! It’s actually not too hard. I just started making dinner a little too late. Took me about 2hrs total. But I also had a baby on my ankles for maybe 30min.
Overall: 10! I will be definitely making this again. So all you daughter-in-laws out there. This is mother-in-law approved. If you want to try it out. My daughter loved it without the salsa. And my son ate maybe a 1/8 cup. He is a hungry thing.
Hope this recipe works for you. Have a good Wednesday.
emily2jane 